Universal hand gun holster and harness



Jan. 14, 1958 N Y 2,819,83Q

UNIVERSAL HAND GUN HOLSTER AND HARNESS Filed March 6, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY UNIVERSAL HAND GUN HOLSTER AND HARNESS FiledMarch 6, 1956 Jan; 14, 1958 N. N. MURRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR116122;; MMzJrra United States Patent UNIVERSAL HAND GUN HOLSTER ANDHARNESS Norris N. Murray, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to the United States ofAmerica as represented by the Secretary of the Army Application March 6,1956, Serial No. 569,950

3 Claims. (Cl. 224-2) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec.266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufacturedand used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without thepayment to me of any royalty thereon.

The invention relates to holsters and/or holster harnesses for handguns, either pistols or revolvers, and is particularly concerned with aholster which is capable of being worn in a variety of positions.

The usual holster for a hand gun is either a shoulder holster whereinthe same is worn beneath the armpit and above the waist belt; abelt-line holster wherein the holster is mounted on the waist belt; or alow slung holster wherein the same is suspended from the belt below thesame. Thus, if a user wishes to be able to carry his gun in all threepositions he must have available not only three different holsters butalso a shoulder harness for the shoulder holster and usually a specialbelt for the low slung holster. The objections are obvious.

The current trend is to belt line or shoulder holsters because the lowslung holster is impractical when seated in an automobile or the like.However, for military use, it is highly desirable to provide a singleholster and harness which is capable of being worn in all three of theusual positions noted plus being adaptable for wear in additional andunobvious positions as will be apparent hereinafter. Such a holster andharness according to the invention eliminates the need for multipleholsters and harnesses for a single weapon at a substantial saving ofmoney, material and storage space.

With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the invention to providean improved holster for a hand gun.

A further object is to provide an improved hand gun holster and harnesswhich enables the holster to be Worn as a shoulder holster, a waist beltor belt-line holster or as a low slung holster.

A further object is to provide a novel harness for a hand gun holsterwhich is capable of supporting the holster either above, at or below thewaist line.

A further object is to provide a novel belt loop for a holster.

A further object is to provide a holster which is readily attached to ordetached from a supporting belt or strap without unfastening such beltor strap.

Other objects and advantages reside in the particular structure of theholster and/ or the harness, the structure of the elements thereof,combinations and sub-combinations of such elements, all of which will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to theattached drawing in connection with the following specification whereinthe invention is shown, described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure l is an exploded view of a holster and harness according to theinvention, the former being arranged for the low slung position;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the holster apart from theharness, the holster being arranged for a beltline or shoulder position;

7 2,819,830 Patented Jan. 14, 1958 Figure 3 is a longitudinal, verticalsectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 3--3 ofFigure 2; and

Figures 4 to 12 inclusive are perspective views showing various ways andpositions for wearing the holster and/ or harness.

Referring specifically to the drawing wherein like reference charactersdesignate like parts in all views, and referring at first to Figuresl-3, 12 designates generally a holster according to the invention whichcomprises a holster body or sheath 13 which is suitably shaped toreceive therein any suitable hand gun 14. The body 13 preferably is ofone-piece folded construction and includes the usual integral flap 15which overlies the butt of the gun 14 to hold the same in the holster.The flap 15 may be readily detachably secured to the front of the body13 in any suitable manner as by the button studs 16 on the body andbutton holes 17 in the flap. Holster body 13 has the usual lower end 18of reduced size. As so far described, the structure is conventional andforms no part of the invention apart from any combinations orsubcombinations in which it appears.

To mount the holster 12 on a belt or harness, there has been provided asecond flap or holster hanger 20 which has a tethered end 21 hingedly orswingably secured to the rear surface of the holster body in anysuitable and well known manner as by the stitching 22. The holsterhanger 20 has a free end 23 which at times is readily detachably securedto the lower end 18 of the holster body below the stitching 22 toprovide a belt loop- 24 as best seen in Figure 3. As will appear later,when the parts are in this position, the holster 12 is adapted to besupported from any suitable belt or strap which may be run through thebelt loop 24.

To secure the free end 23 of the holster hanger 20 to the lower end 18of the holster body, there has been provided laterally directed portionsor tabs 25 which at times at least partially encircle the lower end 18of the holster body. Such laterally directed tabs 25 mount fastenerelements 26 which readily detachably engage mating fastener elements 27on the front surface of the lower end 18 of the holster body. This is aparticularly desirable arrangement because only a pull directly on thefree ends of each tab 25 can unsnap the fastener elements 26, 27 as thenormal strains to which the holster may be subjected cannot betransmitted to the fasteners in directions tending to separate them. Bythe arrangement whereby the laterally directed portions or tabs 25partially encircle the lower end 18 'of the holster, all stresses on thebelt loop 24 are necessarily transmitted to the fasteners 26, 27 inlateral or shearing directions rather than in axial or separatingdirections.

When the fastener elements 26 are disengaged from the elements 27 theholster hanger may be swung to an upwardly extending position which hasbeen illustrated in Figures 1, 7 and 8. It is then arranged forconnection in V, a low slung position to a belt or strap or to theholster harness 30 now to be described.

The holster harness 30 comprises a relatively broad center section 31 ofany suitable flexible material such as leather, cloth or plastic. It hasa front face on which are fixed a pair of laterally spaced separablefastener elements 32 which correspond to the elements 27 of the holsterbody 13 and which are complementary to the mating fastener elements 26on the hanger 20 and are similarly spaced for engagement therewith. Asis apparent from Figure 2, when the hanger 20 is extended upwardly, itsfastener elements 26 may be secured to the complementary elements 32 onthe center section 31 of the harness 30 to support the holster 12 in thelow slung position illustrated in Figures 7 and 8.

The center section 31 of the harness has hingedly secured to theopposite ends thereof in any suitable manner, as by the D-rings 33, twoshort and narrow flexible elements or straps 34. In the embodimentillustrated, the free ends of the straps 34 mount any suitable securingmeans such as the buckles 35 for readily detachably connecting the sameto an elongated, body-encircling flexible member or strap 36. The shortand long straps 34 and 36 may be of the same width as shown and arepreferably narrower than the center section 31. The latter is sized tohave a free sliding fit in the belt loop 24 which is formed when thehanger 29 is secured to the lower end 18 of the holster, Figures 2 and3.

Preferably, the lower end 18 of the holster body is formed with anysuitable means such as the hole 37 for detachably connecting theusualflexible tie down or cord 38 to the holster.

it follows from the foregoing that when the holster hanger 29 is in theloop-forming position the holster may be attached to any suporting beltor strap by disconnecting the fasteners 26, 27 and passing the hangeraround such belt and without unbuckling the latter.

Figures 4-11 inclusive illustrate some of the ways in which the holsterl2 and its harness 30 may be used. For instance, Figures 4, 5 and 11show three ways by which the assembly may be used by a paratrooper.Figures 6 and illustrate two ways of mounting the holster on theWaistline. Figures 7 and 8 show two ways of using the low slung or belowthe waistline position. Figures 9 and 12 show two ways to wear theassembly in an underarm or shoulder holster position.

Referring to these views specifically and in more or less the aboveorder, Figures 4 and 11 show the holster 12 without the harness 30 andwith the holster hanger provid ing the loop 24. In Figure 4- the loop 24encircles the parachute diagonal baclr strap 3? while in Figure ll itengages one of the parachute leg straps 40. This enables the holster andweapon to be donned and dotted with the parachute harness. At the sametime, the holster and gun may be salvaged from the discarded parachuteharness by unsnapping the fasteners 26, 27 and pulling the holster freeof the parachute harness strap involved.

Where it is desirable to retain the holster and weapon after cloning theparachute harness, Figure 5 shows the holster harness 3d passed throughloop 24 and the assembly strapped to the front of the wearer s thigh sothat the weapon is not taken oil with the parachute harness. Note toothat this position is a desirable one for a rider of a vehicle as theweapon is readily accessible yet out of the way. Of course, the holsteris shifted to a more conventional position when it is necessary to walkaround.

In Figures 6 and 10 two waistline positions are illustrated. in Figure 6the holster harness 39 is passed through the loop 24 and secured aboutthe wearers waist by the straps 34, 36 and the buckles 35. The free endsof strap 36 are passed through the D-rings 33 so as to be concealedbelow the center section 31. lo Figure 10, the holster harness 39 isomitted and the holster is supported on the usual waist belt 41 by thebelt loop 24.

In Figures 7 and 8, the holster harness 30 is again utilized as awaistbelt. Here however, the holster hanger 20 is uncoupled from thelower end of the holster and extended upwardly thereof. The fastenerelements 26 and 32 are connected together so that the holster issupported in the low slung or below the belt position. Whenever theholster is worn without a coat, the lower end 18 of the holster may beanchored to the adjacent leg of the wearer .by the tie down 38, Figures8 and 10.

In Figures 9 and 12, the holster is worn above the waist in the underarmor shoulder position. In Figure 9, the holster harness is threadedthrough the belt loop 24, slung over one shoulder and adjusted until theholster 12 is snugly positioned in the armpit of the opposite shoulder.In Figure 12, the holster is located similarly but somewhat lower downso that the waist belt 41 passes through the lower portion of the loop24 and provides an anchor or tie down for the lower end 13 of theholster. In both of these positions the usual tie down 38 may beremoved.

It is obvious from the foregoing that the holster of the invention isreadily adapted to multi-positioning and multiuse either with or withoutthe holster harness and that the positions and uses shown in Figures 4l2are merely illustrative of many other positions and uses of the same.Also while there has been shown and described what are now considered tobe the preferred embodiments of the holster and holster harness, itshould be understood that the same are susceptible of other forms andexpressions. Consequently, the invention should not be considered asbeing limited to the precise structures shown and described hereinaboveexcept as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In a hand gun holster including a downwardly tapering holster body, abelt loop for said body, said belt loop having a tethered end fixed tosaid body rearwardly thereof, said loop having a free end having twolaterally spaced portions extending partially around said taperingholster body in opposite directions and in fiat engagement therewithbelow said tethered end of said loop, securing means on said holsterbody forwardly thereof, and means connecting said spaced portions ofsaid belt loop to said securing means so as to prevent relative movementof said belt loop and holster body.

2. A holster according to claim 1, wherein said laterally spacedportions of said belt loop comprise tabs integral with said loop andextending therefrom in downwardly diverging directions, there being twospaced securing means on said holster body and said securing means beinglocated to cause said tabs to engage said tapered body flatly as theyextend therearound.

3. A holster according to claim 2, wherein said securing means comprisescomplementary separable fastener elements on said tabs and said holsterbody.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,109,161 Chindgren Sept. 1, 1914 1,696,708 Brauer Dec. 25, 19281,844,603 Sarson Feb. 9, 1932 2,213,472 Myres Sept. 3, 1940

